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The Montana legislature committee tasked with addressing the state's medical marijuana law has voted to approve several proposed changes.

The committee voted 7-1 in favor of the changes, with only Representative Mary Caferro of Helena voting against the proposal.

Among the highlights of the proposal:

- Requires two doctors to certify marijuana prescriptions for patients with chronic pain

- Increases the allowable amount of marijuana from one ounce to two ounces

- Limits caregivers to serving no more than five cardholders

- Restricts local governments from prohibiting medical marijuana

- Prohibits the use of medical marijuana in schools and non-hospice healthcare facilities

The proposal will be taken up during the next session of the Montana legislature.

(Aug. 23, 2010)

Montana lawmakers discussed plans to make it tougher to get a medical marijuana card on Monday.

After a summer's worth of work, the proposed bill is tightening up and cracking down, all of it in response to a rapidly growing medical marijuana community.

"The intention of this group was to honor the intention as best we understand it from all of our various meetings and input what the public thought it was voting for," MT State Representative Diane Sands of Missoula said.

But the question many have been asking in recent months is - What did voters approve when they legalized medical marijuana? For each stakeholder, the answer is different.

"We are talking about medical marijuana. We didn't vote for a recreational law. If we had, tax us, limit us do what you need to do, but we voted for a medicine," Brad Comer, who is both a caregiver and a patient, said.

While the medical marijuana community says the proposed changes are too strict, the Montana Medical Association says it still leaves questions unanswered.

"Once the patients leave the physician's hand, the physicians have no control over dosage or quality of what is being called by the state now a medicine," Erin MacLean of the MMA said.

The bill draft requires a two doctor certification for patients with chronic pain, and increases the allowable amount from one ounce to two ounces.

The draft also limits caregivers to serve no more than five cardholders, which for businesses whose only source of income is selling marijuana, has the potential of shutting them down.

"The state hasn't had the opportunity to see the huge benefits of persons like myself running this as a small business, giving us the opportunity to employ people, giving us the opportunity to add to the tax revenues," Charlton Campbell, a medical marijuana caregiver, said.

The draft also restricts local governments from prohibiting medical marijuana.

"The mayor and city council of Billings would like to have prohibition as an option," Billings City Attorney Brent Brooks said.

Despite mixed feelings, legislators want to get the holes in the current legislation plugged.

"I think it addresses some of the unintended consequences that the legislation has provided," MT State Representative Rick Laible of Darby said.

The committee will vote on the bill draft Tuesday. If passed, it will then go before the full legislature when the next session begins.

Through the end of July, about 23,000 Montanans had medical marijuana cards.

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